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Question: What have Blair Adams, Lewis Page and Ryan Haynes got in common?

Answer: They’ve all played at left-back for Coventry City and Cambridge United.

Adams joined the Sky Blues on loan from Sunderland under Mark Robins in 2012 before upgrading to a permanent contract. The 25-year-old moved on to Notts County for two seasons before switching to the U’s, now managed by former Magpies’ boss Shaun Derry.

Meanwhile, Page went out on loan to Cambridge last January, playing six games before injury cut short his spell at which point United drafted in Haynes to take his place, the Sky Blues’ Academy graduate turning out 10 times for the League Two club.

Interestingly, Page and Haynes are both competing for the same spot at Coventry where the latter might have been due a rare run-out back at the Abbey Stadium on Sunday due to Page having previously been ineligible to play for City in the FA Cup.

However, West Ham have decided to allow Page to play in the competition which is likely to keep Haynes down the pecking order. As for whether City fans are likely to see Adams in action, that, too, is looking distinctly unlikely given that he’s currently playing second fiddle to Greg Taylor and limited to just eight appearances, making only three starts in the league.

Ryan Haynes

Turning to United’s danger men at the sharp end of Derry’s preferred 4-4-1-1 formation, former Watford front man Uche Ikpeazu and Luke Berry, who plays just behind him, have struck up a formidable understanding in recent weeks.

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“Uche Ikpeazu has caused defences quite a few problems since getting a bit of fitness together over the last month or so,” says Aaron Mason, who covers the U’s for the Cambridge News.

Unit

“He’s quite a unit but also very quick and skilful and will have a shot from anywhere really.

“Defenders might know how to deal with him but doing that in practice is not that easy, so he’s been one of United’s biggest threats and the reason why they have had a bit of a turn around in fortunes.

Crewe Alexandra's Uche Ikpeazu and Coventry City's Blair Adams

“They didn’t win for the first eight games and were at the bottom of the table and then won seven in last 11 and are now 11th in the table and two points off the play-offs, which is extraordinary given where they were at the end of September.”

He added: “Just behind him there is a lad called Luke Berry who is more of an attacking midfielder. He scored his 50th goal for the club last Saturday and is their leading scorer with eight so far this season.

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“He has benefited from Uche being fit because he tends to drag people out of position or defenders have to double up on him which leaves more scope for Berry to get into little pockets of space and get a goal, so that’s probably where their main threat comes from.”

Upset

As for whether U’s fans think they have a chance against the Sky Blues this weekend, Mason says: “I think most will think they can cause an upset purely because they can see where Coventry are in the table in League One.

“United have found a bit of form lately and it looks as if Coventry haven’t, so I think most people will go into it fairly hopeful.”